


Wilt in Pride

by SanMononoke



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: F/M, Pokemon Battle, Psychological Drama, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-13
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2018-10-18 18:25:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10622562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SanMononoke/pseuds/SanMononoke
Summary: First I'd like to say that I'm a beginner in writing stories in english and it is not my native language. So forgive me for still making a few mistakes. <3





	1. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First I'd like to say that I'm a beginner in writing stories in english and it is not my native language. So forgive me for still making a few mistakes. <3

It was already late afternoon when May arrived at the Lake Valor. The water softly shimmered in the last rays of sunlight and her hair was gently blowing in the wind.  
The young woman has been traveling a lot in the past three years and she has met a lot of new people and Pokémon- even caught herself a few, but she always ended up missing the stage.  
Dawn, who has become one of her closest friends, suggested May to travel the Sinnoh region and participate in the Grand Festival.

The two coordinators couldn't always travel and enter contests together though, since both of them needed to have five ribbons at the end of the season, but they have crossed paths from time to time.  
May took her time with arriving at the giant building.  
She's been alone for a long time, but as much as she loved a cheering crowd or being with people who had the same goals and interests as her, she still enjoyed every single moment of peace and silence she had. But that moment didn't last so long.

"May!"

The brunette girl from Hoenn got spotted by Dawn.

"You're late! The party has already started!"

May smiled apologetically, although it never was her intention to attend the whole party.

"Hey Dawn. How are you?"

"I'm good. A little nervous though, but so excited! Though I've done this a million times before and I actually participated in Sinnoh's Grand Festival once already, it still gets me every time!"

The blue-haired girl smiled brightly, and even though May wasn't in the best mood, she couldn't help but to smile back.

"It's good to see you, Dawn."

Dawn took her by the hand. "I missed you. Now come on in."

May looked at the peaceful lake longingly for the last time before they entered the building and it became noisy and a little muggy.  
She instantly spotted Harley with his eye-catching hair and outfit and surprisingly, Gary was there, too. She's heard a lot about him from Ash on their journey.  
The moment she thought of him, he actually appeared unexpectedly.

"I thought you couldn't manage to come here!" May said in surprise.

"Well, you were wrong." Ash put on his typical, innocent smirk.

"I thought it would help both of us to perform even better with Ash's support, so we had a last-minute change of plans."

"Dawn can be very insistent," Ash admitted and they all laughed.

"I'm glad you're here."

"Me too. I also saw Drew, some minutes ago. You might wanna say hi. You haven't seen each other in a while, have you?" he asked, totally clueless.

Her smile instantly faded and her heart felt weirdly cold for a moment. The ache was back again.  
For the past 3 years, she has tried really hard to deal with his absence and to see him now would probably remove all her progress- if she even made some.  
She didn't feel like risking it, although she always kind of knew in the back of her mind that he could possibly be at the Grand Festival, too.  
Somehow she wanted to see him and all along she's told herself this desire came from actually wanting to tell him what an asshole he was.

"Are you okay?"

May's thoughts were interrupted by Dawn's worried voice.

"Eh, sure thing."

She attempted to smile but she felt like it didn't look so real.

'He hasn't shown up at any contest I've been to, although he travelled the same region. I even told Nurse Joy a few times to leave him a message from me, if he stopped by another time but I got nothing. It was almost like he avoided me. This can't be coincidence at some point...'  
The feeling of disappointment and unrequited longing took over again and it made May deeply sad. It suddenly became hard to breathe.

"The atmosphere in here is almost a little... overwhelming," she said with a hoarse voice.

"But you've only been here a few minutes?" Dawn replied a little confused.

"I think it's because I haven't been to a Festival in so long. Excuse me a second."

May went to the bathroom. And although a part of her hated Drew and was afraid of seeing him, she caught herself looking for him on her way there. But she couldn't spot him. She sighed.  
It was way quieter in the bathroom.  
May looked at herself in the mirror, trying to catch a break. Her styling was way different now than when she started her journey. She didn't continue cutting her hair, so now it fell straight to her chest. Her clothes were black and plain, she also removed her hair-ribbon.  
The bag with her Pokéballs was always with her. In her opinion, the only thing noticeable about her appearance were her aquamarine eyes.

'Do I look pretty? What could he think?' May sighed again. 'Whatever, though. Why would I care.'

She took a deep breath before she entered the hall again.

"Princess of Hoenn!"

May didn't know that voice.

"Hm?" She turned around, into the direction it came from. It was Gary.

"Hey... You're a friend of Ash, right?"

"Yup. His oldest rival, too. Gary Oak." They shook hands.  
"I've heard a lot about you and you've been on TV a few times as well. It's nice to finally meet you. I like that title of yours."

She smiled a little hesitantly. She always kind of considered that title as childish.

"As you can see I don't really look princess-like so I don't know."

"I think you look perfectly pretty."

Gary smiled at her. It was such a friendly smile and he sounded simply honest and free from having any bad intention- it seemed so unlikely that he was said to be arrogant and partly even mean. May blushed.

"So what brings you here?" she changed the topic quickly.

"Well, I've never been so much into performances and all that stuff before but I think that maybe, they actually could inspire me to develop and discover different ways of training. And I wanted to battle Ash again," he added.

They looked at each other in silence for a moment.

'He seems so nice and likeable, why do people always only point out someone's worst sides?'

May looked around. There were a lot of new faces.  
She thought she's gotten to know a lot of coordinators already from all her journeys and competitions she participated in but this were way more new people than she has imagined- and she felt like it was going to be a long night.

"May."

Once again her thoughts got interrupted and this time, she recognised the voice it came from instantly. Just for a second, everything around her seemed to disappear.  
She turned around... and there he was. Standing right in front of her. She didn't respond directly. She just stared at him.  
He was way taller than when they last met though, but he still carried that half arrogant-half sexy smirk with him that made him so individual- along with his hair colour of course.

"Drew," she stated the obvious.

He pushed aside some hair from his forehead.

“Long time no see, huh?”

'You don't say.'

Gary coughed.  
"I think I will go now. May if you need anything, let me know."

She briefly smiled at Ash's rival, unable to respond.

"What an offer. Could mean a lot of things," Drew noticed without any sign of jealousy. As always.

To have his eyes on her made her uncomfortable. She always felt like he could read her mind like that.

"So?" she asked him.

"So what?"

He didn't seem to get why she looked at him with anticipation so intensively.  
She tilted her head a little.

'So I guess he has no idea what I'm expecting from him at all.'

"Nothing. I just didn't expect you to be here."

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, why not?"

'How dumb can one be?'

"Because I didn't see you at a single contest that I entered in Sinnoh maybe?"

Drew averted his gaze from her and kept silent.  
She has sounded a little aggressive, so she tried to pull herself together again and added a little more gently:

"I just kind of ho- I thought I would see you there, that's all."

His facial expression remained unchanged and told May that this wasn't new to him. He then shrugged his shoulders.

"Well I guess we were just really unlucky."

He then put on his typical drew-ish smirk like nothing in the world could ever bring him down.

"I need a drink."

May turned away. It's only been a short moment with him and she already felt sick of it. It annoyed her that he was capable of acting like they've never been apart when she was struggling so much with seeing him again.

"Hey, wait a minute. Don't just leave me here," he laughed but she didn't stop walking.

May grabbed a drink and finished it within ten seconds. He looked at her amusedly but also a little confused.

"Are we troubled?"

"I just can't stand your presence otherwise." That wasn't even a lie.

"Because you're annoying as fuck," she quickly added.

"Yeye, I missed you too."

His sarcasm hurt her, considering she's truly been missing him.

"Seems legit."

'Who am I to judge him for this anyway? I always act sarcastic to hide the fact I care. If he does or does not... what would it matter in the end, if his true feelings simply don't show?'

"Did you know Solidad is here, too?" Drew started a conversation again.

"Oh, really?"

May liked the rose-haired woman a lot, she always seemed to be so wise. "She's already won a Grand Festival once though, why would she participate again? Actually, why would you participate again? You won the festival of the Johto-region." (Yes, I made that up. xD)

"For.. practice."

"Yeah... practice, I see." May whispered and remembered the Festival in Kanto.

Her loss against Solidad wasn't easy to handle for her at all... actually she's never been so down before.  
She looked at Drew. He helped her feel better then and he was... really kind, actually. She didn't understand why he suddenly stopped being in contact with her.  
May didn't even really mind at first.

She was so young and innocent and yes, she has developed feelings for him throughout the years, even though she's never really thought about them intensively, but they never were this hurtful.  
She never knew that kind of pain before. She has always appreciated him as a rival and friend and she still did but... something has changed. She started feeling incomplete without him at some point and she didn't simply look forward to seeing him again as she used to, no, she felt like she desperately needed to.

There were times when she felt like nothing and no one could make her feel better but him. He was so special to May but in the end, she felt like he abandoned her, somehow.  
He used to send her letters, sometimes even roses and it made her so happy.

It kept her wanting to get stronger, he was the only challenge that May would maybe never master, if she didn't keep on going.  
He was a part of her and then he left.

Drew suddenly returned May's look and she immediately looked down. She quietly sighed.

In that moment, the top-coordinator they just talked about joined the two old... friends.

"May, Drew! How good to see you!"

"Hey, Solidad. It's good to see you too," Drew replied and put on his most charming smile.

"First round tomorrow, huh? Which Pokémon are you going to use?"

"I think I will go with Absol. What about you, May?"

On her way to Valor Lake, she has had enough time to think about that.  
"I chose Blaziken."

Solidad smiled.

"That's a good and safe choice. I will go with Lapras again."

They kept talking for a while, until May got tired. It always kind of strained her to be with so many people at one spot.

"I will go to bed I think. Tomorrow will be exhausting."

May took leave and went to her room after getting the key at the reception from Nurse Joy.  
She took a shower, got into her pyjamas and freed her Pokémon from their Pokéballs. She always did that. She wanted to grant them freedom as much as possible.  
In her current team were Blaziken, Blastoise, Milotic, Raichu and her two Ninetales.

The bed was really big, so at least four of them could take place there. And for the water Pokémon, every coordinator room actually had a Pool.  
It was a great luxury which she truly appreciated.  
May laid down and closed her eyes.

It has been a really eventful day and there were a lot of things to deal with. All the hurt she tried to push away throughout the day always reached her at night and although the wounds she had because of Drew would never heal just like that, it felt like they got ripped open a little bit more again, because she just saw him again.  
Of course she tried to act mature and have a normal conversation with him, but she didn't know if she could keep that up forever. Quietly sobbing she fell asleep.


	2. Sunset & Worries

May's Blaziken scored 95 points in the first round and secured them a place in the double-battles. Drew's Absol and Solidad's Lapras performed really beautifully und successfully as well, as expected. Dawn and Harley made it to the second round too, and May even noticed someone scoring a lot of points who she hasn't seen in a long while- it was Brianna, a girl from Kanto and a huge fan of Drew. May couldn't remember seeing her at the welcome party. The match -ups got confirmed already too, May was against a person she didn't know at all. She knew she should never underestimate her enemies, but the first battle round was usually easy to master for her.

Later the day, May went to the beach. Dusk fell already and most people were packing their stuff to return to the their apartments. She spotted several coordinators, some of them looked sad, disappointed or frustrated- almost angry and others were smiling, apparently proud of their performance and their chance to keep fighting for the cup. And May? She didn't really know what she felt or what she was supposed to feel. She wasn't the girl she used to be anymore- she wasn't that young and innocent beginner that cried when she lost or was overwhelmingly happy when she didn't. That only cared about getting stronger and winning badges.

She was naive and the worst thing for her was losing a round, now the worst thing for May was her aching heart. She still loved to perform though and she was confident in her Pokémon and her skill. She enjoyed a cheering crowd and had no intention at all to not give her best, but at the end of the day, she still felt kind of... empty. The lights were gone and the magic too and she was all alone with her feelings and thoughts of... him. Although May would never let it show in an obvious way, she still crumbled inside whenever she was in Drew's presence. It hurt to be with him but it hurt to be apart, too. It has all along. 'How could he do this that me? Not showing up for three years? I thought we were friends and friends care about each other, don't they? They don't just... leave.'

"Hey, May."

It was him. May didn't look at him because she quickly had to wipe away a tear that just escaped from her eye.

"Hey, Drew."

He sat down beside her. "Why aren't you partying, hm? Princess of Hoenn?"

"Only a few deserve the majesty's presence. You're not one of them," she said sarcastically. He laughed.

"Well I'm still staying," the coordinator from LaRousse City said confidentially.

'Yeah as much as you stayed after we last parted in Kanto,' she thought to herself.

"So, what brings you here to the beach around that time? Aren't you scared of the dark?" he teased her with that typical, arrogant smirk. She raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not 10 anymore. Also, it's not that dark yet. Sundown is not over." "True, but it will be soon." "Enlighten me more," she scoffed. "No sun-pun intended?" Drew replied and May couldn't hold back a slight smile.

"You're an idiot." 'And I am too apparently. Why am I even sitting here with him? Shouldn't I be like... ignoring him? I mean, he has hurt me...' She kind of hated it that he somehow still managed to make her smile.

"So how have you been doing? And how are you right now?"

'Terrible.'

"I'm good. Caught a lot of new Pokémon, I'm pretty satisfied with everything." She didn't want to talk about her actual condition.

"I'm glad to hear that," he said and it actually sounded honest. May nodded and kept silent.

"Anything... else?" Drew asked, now sounding a little... insecure.

"What do you mean?" "I-I don't know." He suddenly seemed uncomfortable, but he changed the topic really quickly. "So when are you going back to the hotel? Need a hand, in case it's too dark for you?"

'Is it that funny to tease me? Apparently so.' "I appreciate it, but I'm good, Drew." For once her sarcasm wasn't meant to sound hurtful.

They looked at the sunset for a while. The sky was dyed in so many colours- it was such a beautiful sight to behold. May took a deep breath. She loved evenings like that, when she was so close to the nature. She has always loved that about traveling, no matter how homesick she felt, a fresh breeze and an amazing landscape to look at always made her feel like all of this was somehow worth it. And of course, the company of her Pokémon always made her feel a little stronger, too. Just sitting here with Drew- it made her heart feel a little less empty. Just for a moment.

When the sun was gone it started to get colder. And before this situation could turn into an awkward movie scene in which the boy asked the girl if she wanted his jacket, May stood up.

"I'm going back to my room now. I don't want to be attacked by the monsters that come out in the dark."

"Don't worry. I'd be here to protect you anyway."

"Sure thing."

"Come on, I'm not that useless. Actually I'm pretty sure I will beat you in battle."

"If you come that far." He smirked.

"Don't be so rude. You're a princess, remember?"

"Even princesses don't have manners when it comes to idiots." May hoped that it would shut Drew up somehow, but he didn't mind at all.

They returned to the hotel and Drew followed her to her room.

"So where's your room?" May asked. "Actually it's beside yours."

"Hmm... alright then," she said a little irritated. 'Why is he still standing here, then?' May turned away and attempted to open the door, but Drew suddenly grabbed the door handle. She stared at his hand, wishing it would just magically go away and let her open that damn door, but it didn't.

May sighed, turned around and looked at Drew clearly annoyed.

"What?"

"No goodnight kiss?"

May stared into his emerald green eyes and just for a split second, she allowed herself to get lost in them- and the thought of how much she wanted to kiss him. But it didn't matter if she's had one beautiful moment with him at the beach when she has been hurting for more than two years. Or maybe it did matter, but it wasn't enough- because the feeling of pain and disappointment would return eventually and looking into his beautiful green eyes she fell in love with also remembered her of all the agony.

"No. No kiss for you."

"Rude." Drew smirked, obviously blind to her change in emotions.

"Well then... I wish you a good night, princess."

May didn't respond. She just looked at him for another few seconds.

"You too, Drew my love. Sweet dreams," he then said in a high pitched voice to tease her.

"Moron."

May turned around and stepped into her room. Through the door she could hear a quiet laughter. She sighed.

* * *

16 Trainers made it to the third round, including Dawn, Solidad, Zoey, Harley, Drew and Brianna. They were strong enemies, May was concerned. It was May vs Brianna and the girl from Hoenn was already annoyed from this match-up. "If I beat 'her', will you go out with me?", May heard Brianna say, just after their upcoming battle against each other got confirmed on the giant monitors. She rolled her eyes. 'Great. She's still willing to try anything to get Drew's time and attention.' "Uhm.. well okay", Drew agreed.

'Wait what?!' May turned her head and looked at him angrily. 'Is he out of his mind now?' She hated the thought of Drew and Brianna going out and maybe he actually knew that. Drew walked towards May, touched her shoulder and whispered: "Seems like you'll have to fight for me a little."

She pushed him away and hoped he'd just fall, but she wasn't strong enough. He just laughed and walked away.

'Idiot.'

Brianna's and May's eyes met and the coordinator from Kanto looked extremely determined. But May had to admit- a date with Drew was quite an incentive.

"I evolved my Surskit and my Vibrava, so I have a Masquerain and a Flygon , just like Drew. I won't lose to you!" May was tired of his fangirls.

"You're ridiculous, Brianna. You're just like any other trainer I already battled in this contest and copying his style and his Pokémonteam will get you nowhere." Her voice was cold and it actually surprised her that she just said that.

She used to be so kind and friendly to everyone. When Brianna had her first outburst of jealousy, because of the friendship that May and Drew shared, May was completely shocked, even a little hurt because she's been trying to help Brianna before and even introduced them to each other. Now it just made her sick.

"Your blind affection for him will be the end of you." May turned away and left. 'I could have dedicated those words to myself as well.. whatever. I'm not like her.'

Even though she couldn't tale Brianna's personality seriously, she knew her Pokémon probably weren't weak. 'So Flygon and Masquerain it is. Their weaknesses are Fairy, Dragon, Ice, Fire, Flying and Electric. I will keep my Ninetales fit for the final battle, but Blastoise and Blaziken would make a great team against them.' May made her choice and decided to train the rest of the day.

"Hey May, do you need help with your training?" Gray joined her. 'He's a strong trainer and his first Pokémon was Squirtle..'

"Yeah, I'm sure my Blastoise can learn a lot from yours." Gary nodded. They trained for hours and hours and May's Blastoise even learned Hydro pump. Suddenly Solidad interrupted.

"Hey, May, have you seen Drew?"

"No, is there a problem?" "He's just been away for very long. He went into the forest to train and he's not back yet. It's not like him, I'm a little worried and it's starting to get dark."

"He will know what he's doing", May said coldly. Solidad tilted her head a little.

"You're not worried at all?"

The brunette girl avoided eye contact. She didn't answer. Solidad wasn't buying May's attitude, but decided to leave her alone.

"Okay well... good luck with your training." Time kept flying and it became harder to focus. May tried to act like she wasn't thinking of him, but she still caught herself looking at the forest again and again. It really wasn't like him.

"Gary I think we can stop here. You did well, Blastoise and Blaziken. Take a good rest." Her friends returned to their Pokéballs.

"Thank you for your help, Gary. I appreciate it", she said to the young man from Pallet Town.

"Sure." May smiled but her eyes looked a bit sad. "You're actually worried, aren't you?"

"Yes, I think. I'm gonna talk to Solidad." "I can help you find him if he doesn't appear in an hour." May looked at him surprisedly.

"You would do that?" She had assumed Gary didn't like Drew.

"You care about him so... Sure, I will help you."

"That I'd ever hear a man say that. Thanks." Gary nodded. They waited a little until it got dark. There were no signs of Drew yet and now May really felt a little frightened. 'What if something happened? Something serious? What if he's hurt? Maybe even.. worse?' Her head started aching and her worries made her sick. "He should have been here by now. We must search him." Solidad and Gary agreed. They left the building together and were just about to use their Pokémon to search for Drew, when he suddenly came walking out the woods. The lights of the lanterns let his face shine a little and his expression was totally relaxed.

She stared at him. May's first emotion was relief and her second one anger. She ran towards him.

"Where have you been, Drew? We were worried."

Drew raised a brow. "Hmpf. I know that you'd probably manage to get lost in a plain forest but I'm certainly not that stupid." He smirked arrogantly and pushed aside some hair from his forehead. "I was just doing some last minute training, which you should have done, too. But of course, instead you..." He couldn't keep saying humiliating things to her because she suddenly hugged him- which totally confused him for a moment. They have never hugged before. They never expressed their feelings for each other in such a simple way. May closed her eyes. To simply hear his heartbeat had a calming effect on her and for a moment, just a short moment, she felt like everything was going to be okay... somehow. Only some seconds later she let go of him. May couldn't look into his eyes after such an act, so she decided to just turn away and depart in silence. No "I'm glad you're okay." No "I'm sorry I made you worry."

Just nothing.


	3. Jealousy

It was the day of the third round.  
Drew battled against Harley- it was a close match, but Drew won. It didn't surprise May, somehow. She would have to battle against Brianna in just some minutes and she had to admit, she was a little bit nervous- but that was nothing unusual, since she had to perform in front of a giant audience.

"Alright Blaziken and Blastoise." For one year now, she has made it a habit to always encourage the Pokémon that were going to perform shortly before the show. "Our enemies aren't going to be easy to beat, but we've figured out a few strategies to win. I believe in you. Let's do our best." Her Pokémon happily agreed and she gave them a hug before they returned to their Pokéballs. 'Let's do this', she thought.  
Although she's changed a lot through the years, her will to win has never left her.  
  
"And for the next match, welcome Brianna from Kanto and May from Hoenn!" The crowd cheered loudly and both coordinators stepped into the battlefield.  
"This battle is limited to 5 minutes. Do your best!"  
  
"Flygon and Masquerain, I choose you!"  
Brianna's Pokémon beautifully left their Pokéballs and got battle-ready. The crowd applauded and screamed. May looked around. She spotted Gary, Ash and Dawn sitting together. Solidad was with Drew and she waved at May.  
"Alright Blaziken, Blastoise, take the stage!"

The fire/fighting and the water type got battle-ready as well. In front of them were two Pokemon who could fly, but May was convinced that she knew how to deal with that. She looked at Drew shortly, who seemed quite surprised about her choice of Pokémon. But he knew her and he knew that she had probably figured something out. Brianna seemed very determined, maybe even a little haughtily.  
  
"Let's get this over with quickly, Masquerain, use Quiver Dance, Flygon, use Dragon Dance!"  
"Brianna starts over with boosting her Pokémon's attack and speed!" Marian screamed into the microphone.  
"Hmpf. Blaziken, Swords Dance, Blastoise, Withdraw!"  
The water Pokémon's defense increased and the fire Pokémon's Attack rose greatly. Brianna clearly didn't seem so happy about that.  
"Let's go Flygon, use Sandstorm and Masquerain, use Silver Wind!"

Those two attacks were the first combination of the battle- they fused together and formed an extremely strong wind that came towards May's Pokémon. 'I thought she'd do that.' May remembered Ash's battle against Alain, how he cleared the sandstorm and his general fighting style. 'Water will do.'  
She combined Rapid Spin with Hydro Pump and it worked out well.  
  
"Flygon use Dragon Claw and Masquerain, use Aerio-Ace!" The two came straight at May's Pokémon. "Fire-water fusion, let's go!"  
Fire Spin and Hydro Pump united and made a very strong counter attack. She's always loved that combination.  
Brianna's Pokémon got a direct hit.  
But there were 4 minutes left, so the battle has just begun.

"Use Sand Tomb on both of them, Flygon!" Immediately, the Pokémon got caught up on their feet by the sand. The attack was way more powerful than when May saw Brianna last use it during their battle in Kanto. "Blastoise, Rapid Spin."  
  
Her water Pokémon of course was able to protect itself and got rid of the sand with spinning around quickly. Only Blaziken was having some troubles.  
"Now use Dragon Breath on Blaziken and Masquerain, use Aerio-Ace on Blastoise!" Aerio-Ace was obviously used to prevent Blastoise from helping Blaziken and May had no other chance than to tell her water Pokémon to use Withdraw and block Masquerain's attack- which really looked quick and powerful, which cost May some points anyway.

May remembered their battle from before and then knew what to do.  
"Mega Kick Blaziken, let's go."  
The sand began to glow in a light blue and Blaziken could escape from the attack before Dragon Breath could deal damage, but May has lost some points because of that emergency situation Brianna got them into.  
The girl from Kanto prepared their next combo-attack, leaving no chance to catch a break.

"Flygon, use Dragon Breath and Masquerain, Air Cutter!"  
Now the bug type's Air Cutter was covered in purple flames and looked really strong and beautiful. May sincerely didn't expect that and the main aim of Brianna's Pokémon was apparently Blaziken, since Blastoise could just block an attack like that.  
But May's fighting type Pokémon was well trained- it was her first, after all.  
  
"Let's go Blaziken, destroy them with Sky Uppercut."  
"What speed, what a show!“ Marian shouted in to the microphone.  
Brianna's attack vanished into purple glitter, it was a beautiful sight to behold.  
The fight went on and at some point May managed to get her Pokémon really close to the enemy to land a giant fire ball right on Flygon's back and and an Ice Beam against Masquerain.

"Mega Kick, Blaziken!"  
It sent the dragon Pokémon straight to the ground where it caused a giant hole.  
Those well placed attacks finished both of Brianna's Pokémon off.  
She was defeated before the time has run out.  
"What an amazing battle with such strong attacks!" the moderator stated. "And with this win, May from Hoenn made it to the Quarterfinals!"  
  
May waved at the audience and smiled. Her and Drew's eyes met for a second. He didn't look surprised about her victory.  
May avoided eye contact with Brianna and she didn't want to shake hands with her either and apparently, Brianna felt the same way, because they both left the battlefield after some moments.  
  
'Quarterfinals, huh?'  
She leaned her head against the cold door and looked up.  
The sounds of jubilation were dulled behind the closed door.  
'I wonder what Drew thinks about that battle and if he feels sorry for Brianna.'  
The old May would be so happy now, just because she has won. And actually, it wasn't bad to feel strong, like a worthy opponent. It made her feel satisfied somehow and kept her wanting go on, still. But somehow the current May also felt like no victory in the world would be enough to give her back her actual, true happiness. But she could never tell anyone about that.

 

* * *

 

May sighed and went up to her room. Brianna and her would never become friends again as it seemed. May disliked Brianna's way to express her feelings a lot. It made her upset that she was all over Drew all the time and even more upset and jealous that Drew let her.

It didn't take long until May started to cry again. Sometimes she couldn't fight the tears and by now, she was so used to them that she didn't have any incentive to do so. She was powerless, too powerless to hide her sorrow from herself. Hiding it and telling herself that she didn't care and she didn't feel anything for him would be the biggest lie she's ever told herself. So she just cried in her pillow, quietly sobbing because of how much she craved to have Drew close but also because of how much she hated the way he treated her, whenever he was actually with her. He was always all nice to Brianna, but brash to May.

Time passed by and later she tried to figure out if she wanted to go to the party later and then decided that she didn't want to run from Drew or try to avoid him in the end. She didn't want him to think she was affected.  
So some hours later, she put some concealer over her dark circles and brushed her hair. It had a really intense brown colour which made her eyes look even better as well. She really looked pretty.  
Someone knocked at her door.

"May, are you coming to the party?" It was Gary.  
She opened the door. "Yes I am." May linked arms with Gary and they walked downstairs. The atmosphere was as good as always, although a lot of coordinators got their dreams of winning the Grand Festival destroyed that day. May instantly reached for a drink. "Don't drink too much, though" Gary gently suggested her. She didn't respond.

"That was a great battle today."

The green haired coordinator joined them just as May thought of him. 'I should just ignore him.' "Mhm" she mumbled. "Seems like you prevented Brianna and me from going on a date." He laughed.

'It always seems so arrogant when he laughs.'

"If you really wanted her, you would have asked her out by now. You don't care about her, you don't care about anyone. So shut the fuck up and spare me that fucking pretended dating fuck."

Silence.

Drew seemed really surprised about that reaction. May usually didn't talk like that. Especially not to him.

'What happened to us? He always used to be kind of arrogant, that's true. But he's changed through the years. We have changed. I thought he finally learned to not make such jokes on my cost all the time. Or maybe I'm no better than him, after what I just said.'

"May, you.." "Please don't, Gary. I really don't care anymore." She grabbed another drink. 'I'm being just as irresponsible as before. But I'm sick and tired of always trying to do the right thing when I am the one hurting.' "It's okay Gary" she then said to him softly. "I will talk to you later and also reach for your help if I can't make it upstairs on my own." She faked a laugh. He knew it wasn't real, but didn't want to interfere all over again. He let her make her own choices without stopping to be a little protective, and that's what she liked about him. "Alright then, love..."

May observed Drew's reaction. When he heard the world love, she could actually recognise a change in his facial expression, but he fastly brushed some hair off his face and it disappeared.  
Gary went away and May finished her drink. She stared at Drew shamelessly.

'He's so pretty. What the fuck man.'

"Are you okay, May?" "Don't act like you care, please." Drew didn't know what to respond. He's never really told her directly that she actually meant something to him. But he has found his own way to be there for her. After her loss against Solidad, he tried everything to make her feel better and it actually did work.

'Why is it not enough for her?' he thought.

'Why does he always have to be so arrogant?' May shook her head, trying to push her thoughts aside. But they wouldn't go away. And she couldn't keep it together any longer.

"Where have you been, Drew?"  
"Hm?"  
"Where have you been, in those three years? Why did you not contact me once? I even told Nurse Joy to leave you messages from me."  
His arrogance and confidence immediately faded and he looked down. "Have you nothing to say?" she pressured him.  
She wasn't even sure if she wanted to hear it at all. But she also didn't want to endure not knowing the truth anymore either. He didn't respond. She stared at him for a moment, wishing he'd magically look up and tell her what she wanted to hear, but it didn't happen. Instead he just mumbled: "I think you shouldn't drink so much."

May turned around and left.  
Drew was left behind, feeling pretty terrible. Solidad saw him and instantly noticed that something was wrong. She came over.

"What's wrong, Drew?" Her voice was soft and friendly and her entire appearance had a calming effect. She was smart, experienced, loyal and beautiful. It was hard to not trust her with all your problems. "May is... mad at me" he stated the obvious. "Why so?" "Well we... we haven't talked in a few years, because I... kind of avoided her. For a lot of reasons. It hurt her a lot, apparently. I thought she was okay because she's so good at pretending that nothing is wrong but... she wasn't all along it seems." Solidad thought about what he said for a while and also recalled a couple of conversations she had with May.

"She's hurt because she expected differently from you. She feels like she doesn't mean as much to you as you do to her. You are rivals and friends at the same time, you even developed feelings for each other and though you'd never speak it out, you shouldn't deny that now, Drew. No one and nothing could replace you or the precious and special bond that you share. She feels like she cherished it more than you."

Pause.

"Now she's ashamed, mad at herself and... mad at you. Every time Nurse Joy told her that you've already been at the same contest a few weeks ago, her hopes got destroyed. And every time she hoped again, it ended in another disappointment. You didn't respond to her letters, you did nothing, basically. It ruined her every single time. I am not saying this to offend you, I'm just telling you how it is."

Drew kept silent for a while. "But all of that doesn't mean I didn't think of her" he then said.

"How is she supposed to know that?"

"I-I don't know."

"Look, she has reached a point where she can't take arrogant behaviour anymore, no disappointments at all. But she obviously still has feelings for you. Strong feelings as it seems, so make it up to her, because she deserves so much better than that."

Solidad patted Drew's shoulder and left.

Undetermined about what to do left, Drew just stood there with a drink, staring at Gary and May dancing.

"Drew!"  
Brianna appeared all of a sudden.  
"Oh, hey." He tried to smile.  
"That was a good battle today. Your Pokémon became even stronger."  
"You think so?" Brianna looked at him like he was the prettiest creature she had ever seen.  
'One could almost expect butterflies to escape from her stomach through her mouth at any moment.' May thought when she caught a glimpse at the two of them.  
  
"Yes. You were great. Don't be sad about losing. May is just really strong" he added and made Brianna feel even better.  
"Aw, thanks so much."  
She suddenly hugged him which made him feel a little overwhelmed at first, but he hugged her back shyly, trying to be polite.  
Of course, May looked at them again right at that moment.  
  
'He didn't hug me back when I was worried about his disappearance the day before' May noticed. It made her heart ache for a second.  
May sighed and then pressed her head softly against Gary's chest, who wrapped his arms around her.  
"It's okay. It's going to be okay" he whispered.

Time flied and the later it got, the more drunk everyone became. Brianna's voice seemed to get quieter and quieter when his eyes were on May and Gary and Drew was jealous. Terribly jealous even though he hated to admit it.

As May went to her room alone after convincing Gary that she really was going to be okay, he followed her.

"May" he called out her name.

"What, Drew?" she asked after she turned around to him. She almost spit his name out, making it sound like an insult. He caught up to her.

"So... are Gary and you like... a thing now?"

"So what if?" she responded toxically.

"Can't you just answer my question?"

He came a step closer and she went one step back.

"You can never answer mine either."

"C'mon.." He really looked distraught now.

"You know what? I think you shouldn't drink so much" May said sarcastically and turned her back on him, but he grabbed her arm and forced her body with a little pressure against his own.  
She didn't expect that and just stared at him in shock for a few seconds. And even though she felt extremely uneasy having him so close, she didn't let it show.

"Please bother someone else with your dominance complexes" she suggested angrily.

"Or maybe you're the one with the complexes, since you are constantly hanging out with another boy."

"Your arguments aren't getting any better, are they? You're also with Brianna all the time and unlike her, he's a good person, Drew. Maybe he seems arrogant to some people, but under that surface is a really kind heart. Something you clearly can't offer."

That hurt him. She tried to push him away, but he wasn't moving even a little and she was also quite weak physically.

"Drew this is getting ridiculous."

"Answer my question", he demanded.

"Screw you with your question" she raised her voice, losing her patience.   
He put some more pressure on her body and his face came closer to hers.

"You know I'm stronger than you."

She stared into his eyes for a moment, incapable of believing what he just said.

"Are you threatening me? For God's sake Drew, how bad is your jealousy?"

"I'm not jealous" he replied but it didn't seem convincing at all.

"Then how bad does your pride hurt because I'm not making everything about you for once and I finally found someone who treats me better than you?" She almost screamed out the last words and he kept silent. Her heart was racing.

"Now let the fuck go of me."

"May, I... I..."

He tried to say something meaningful but she harshly interrupted him. "'I'm an asshole.' Yes I know, Drew." His grip got loosened and his body wasn't so tensed anymore. She saw the chance, gave him a strong push and walked away. For just a second, she hoped he'd come after her and tell her that he was sorry and he loved her. But she just took away that chance from him because of her own pain and it made her heart ache even more. She slammed the door, ran to her bed and cried into her pillow until she fell asleep.

 'How many times am I going to screw up?' Drew asked himself. 'Fuck. This was totally not what I wanted. I should have listened to Solidad better. And maybe drunk less.'


	4. Rejection

The next morning May went downstairs to get breakfast in the cafeteria.  
She got up early, hoping she wouldn't meet so many people on her way there and during her meal.  
She was lucky. At least at first.  
The cafeteria was quite empty and silent.  
May got her food and sat down, letting out a sigh. While she ate in peace, she looked at the giant screen right above the entrance.

The upcoming matches had already been confirmed the day before after the battles, but May had missed it, since she immediately went to her room.  
Her matchup was a random dude that she hasn't made acquaintances with yet.  
She was more concerned about Drew, Solidad, Zoe and Dawn still being contenders.  
Then she noticed that Solidad was matched up against Dawn. May suddenly didn't know which side to be on anymore.  
'Maybe I should just wish everyone luck.'

Right in that moment, the door opened and Drew stepped in. Their eyes met immediately, but May looked down on her plate shortly after. She suddenly didn't feel like eating anymore.  
The green haired guy walked towards her. May was alarmed and quickly got up. She didn't want an awkward conversation, she just wanted to be alone. Or rather: be without Drew.  
She put her dishes on the scheduled spot and wanted to leave the room as fast as possible, but Drew stepped right in front of her.

'What am I hoping for anyway.'

"What do you want?" she asked, sounding as annoyed as ever.  
"Hey, Good Morning May... I got to talk to you. I am sorry about yesterday. I was..."  
"Drunk?"  
"It wasn't just that."  
"Drew, I have to leave to get ready for the battle. This is just a waste of precious time."

She stepped aside and walked past him, not giving him a chance to explain himself.  
'I can't deal with that right now. I have to focus on the upcoming battles.'  
He didn't go after her, hurt in his pride.  
May almost ran into Gary when she walked out the door a bit too much in a hurry.

“Hey, slow down!” he laughed. “Good morning you wild thing.”  
“Morning Gary” she greeted him with a way friendlier voice than when she spoke to Drew.  
“Where are you heading?”  
“I got to get my Pokémon and start training a little before my battle.”  
“Need a hand?”  
“Yeah, why not. It would be nice if your Umbreon could help my Glaceon to improve its Shadow Ball attack.”  
“Sure. Let me just grab some breakfast first.”  
May nodded and watched Gary leave. His and Drew's eyes met. Gary greeted him politely by nodding his head but Drew stared at him very coldly until he looked at May again. His eyes had another expression now which May couldn't quite define. But then the door closed.

* * *

It was no easy battle, but May managed to win in the end with a Blizzard/Silver Wind combination of Beautifly and Glaceon, as well as Solidad, Drew and Zoe.  
'So... I will have to battle one of them in the next round. Each of them has already won a festival once, am I really as good as them...?'  
Self-doubts made it hard for her to stay calm. Even though she has been in a lot of contest situations before, it was never an easy task for her to have complete faith in her skills. Especially not with those enemies.

'I have to... I just have to beat them.'  
May knew that she needed to be confident and that her Pokémon could sense it if she was not. Solidad taught her that.  
'I have to stay calm and focused. For them.'

Later on, everyone gathered in the hall with the giant screens. Very soon, Marian would confirm the next matchups. Or more likely, the random generator would confirm them.  
"We have seen a lot of great battles today, haven't we? Well, it's time we get to see the even greater once. Get ready for the semi-finals, everyone!"  
The crowd applauded and Marian smiled genuinly into the camera.  
May took a deep breath.

Drew, Solidad, Zoe and her were now shown on the screens.  
She carefully looked around and caught Drew looking right at her from the other side of the room. For a moment, they just stared into each others eyes. The young woman then turned her head and tried to look up determinedly. If it really worked out... who knows.  
'It's fine. I am going to make it, no matter who I am against. Just... relax' she told herself.

"Aaaaand, here we go!" Marian shouted.  
May bit on her lips.  
For a second, everything seemed to be frozen. Everyone just awaited the results in exictement and fear at the same time.

It was Solidad.  
'Shit.' was May's first thought. But she couldn't think further than than, because the rose haired woman had already walked over to her.  
"So we meet again on the battlefield!" She seemed to be very excited and happy about this matter.  
"Indeed we do" May agreed, but with less enthusiasm. She was wondering if Drew was going to be able to beat Zoe.  
'Could it be that I will have to challenge him in the finals? Will I even be able to focus like this?' She immediately got rid of that thought again. 'Nah... one of us will be defeated anyway.'

"What are you thinking of? Remember, you Pokémon notice your insecurity."  
"Yes, I know, I know... Well Solidad, I am very excited to battle you tomorrow. But I would rather focus on getting something to eat right now, want to hit the cafeteria with me?"  
Solidad laughed and nodded her head. "Sure."

They sat down on the balcony and watched the sun go down while eating.  
"I can't believe I will have to leave this place soon" May said, sounding a little sad. "Yeah, me neither... But you will come back here eventually, I am sure of it. And there are a lot of other beautiful places that are just waiting to be discovered. Just be patient."  
"Yes, you're right."

Drew entered the cafeteria, got himself a plate of food and went to sit outside with May and Solidad, of course.  
He sat down beside his favourite brunette and greeted both of them like nothing was wrong, but he could feel the tension that came from May.  
When his leg briefly touched hers, she created some physical distance between them. Solidad noticed of course, but she didn't comment on it.

"I know you don't talk about your strategies Drew, but do you have one against Zoe?" Solidad then started a topic to escape the awkward silence.  
"I don't have a strategy against her especially, but of course I got some moves that could be useful."  
"I see. Well, if you and May end up facing each other in the finals, you will not be able to figure out a strategy either- we all know May surprises you all over again." She laughed. "Yeah, that's very true" Drew agreed, hoping she would take it as a compliment.

May could feel his eyes on her from aside, but she stubbornly avoided looking at him.  
They kept eating their meals silently.  
At some point, Solidad got up.

'Wait... where is she going?'  
May searched for eye contact with her, looking really imploringly.  
'Where are you going? Don't just leave me here alone with him!'  
Solidad refused to look at May, her intention was to give the two of them some time alone, probably to clear things up.

"I am quite tired, so I am going to go to bed. I will see you tomorrow."  
Still no eye contact. May watched her leave, slowly panicking. When Solidad was out of sight, she cleared her throat.  
"Well. I think I will leave too."  
She wanted to get up, but Drew grabbed her wrist. 

"Don't go, please. You still didn't accept my apology."

"Yeah, maybe because I simply don't want to."

"Please?"

"No. Let me go now."

Right at that moment, Blaziken came out of his Pokeball, stepped in front of May and looked at Drew very angrily. He even growled, which was untypical for him. Drew let go of her wrist immediately.

"I didn't want to hurt her, Blaziken." 

"Yeah, spare him that, he doesn't care. Now get out of the way."

Drew recognised that he was not going to get very far like this, so he got up and let them pass him.

"Thanks Drew" May said sarcastically. "And thank you, Blaziken" she said with a way warmer voice.  
Drew didn't reply.

 

May opened the door to her room and took a shower. She let the rest of her Pokémon out of their Pokéballs and lied down on her bed.  
'Solidad. I am really going to battle her again. And Drew... Good luck against Zoe.'


End file.
